This is an application for funds to support a Summer Training Course in Experimental Aging Research to be organized by the Buck Center for Research on Aging in Novato, California, from June 12 through June 16, 1994. The Course is designed to alternate every other year with a very similar course at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan. Its goal is the same as the course at the University of Michigan in 1993 to "provide an intensive exposure to modern research in experimental gerontology for a group of 15 to 20 researchers who are in the formative stages of their careers". Trainees will be expected to have had at least two years of productive laboratory experience in some aspect of cell or molecular biology beyond the doctoral degree (PhD, MD, or DVM). Each day in the five day program will consist of three components: (1) two "overview" lectures which introduce trainees to the critical elements of one area of experimental gerontology; (2) a research development workshop in which each trainee will present his/her own research ideas for critique; and (3) a research seminar presented by a faculty members from several San Francisco, Bay Area institutions. Five experienced research gerontologists will serve as course faculty. Edward L. Schneider, the Course Director, will provide an overview of aging research. Richard Miller, the Course Co-Director, will discuss age-dependent changes in immune function and the utilization of animal and human models for aging research. Judith Campisi will discuss the molecular basis for the control of cellula replication as well as the interrelationship between aging and cancer. Ca;eb Finch will discuss comparative aspects of aging as well as our molecular understanding of age-dependent neurodegenerative diseases. Rudy Tanzi will discuss the latest techniques for gene mapping and isolation. Tom Johnson will discuss invertebrate models for gerontological research. In addition, five faculty members from Bay Area universities will present research seminars: Stanley Prusiner, Claude Arnaud and Charles Epstein from the University of California at San Francisco, Bruce Ames from the University of California, Berkeley, and Robert Sapolsky from Stanford University. This course will follow the successful initiation of this type of course at the University of Michigan by Richard Miller in June 1993. It will provide a new group of young scientists with a fundamental knowledge in experimental gerontology, and expand the horizons of established researchers who are in the process of developing their careers in biogerontology. We expect that the daily interactions between trainees and faculty will stimulate both groups and lead to future interactions and collaborations between them. We expect this course to rotate on an annual basis between the Buck Center and the University of Michigan.